It’s been just over a year since Pitchfork – a web-based music news and review site – launched its quarterly print publication The Pitchfork Review, stating “We’ve always been huge fans of the print medium. The Pitchfork Review will allow us to extend our passion for music, images, and storytelling into a new arena.”

“It’s long been argued that print and digital should work alongside one another to get the most out of both forms, but generally this has been read as print adding digital to its existing channels,” Leslie writes.

“Recently though we’ve seen multiple examples of digital publications and brands launching print publications for the first time. These have ranged from bloggers and web publishers extending their voice into magazines to digital businesses adding a printed publication to their marketing efforts,” he continues.

Regular readers of this blog will know that we have been covering this topic quite a bit over the past several months, as more and more digital-first companies branch out into print. What’s so heartening is the recognition by many of these brands that print offers an opportunity to engage their readers with a different type of content.

“The magazine mixes new, long form writing with content from the website,” Leslie writes about The Pitchfork Review. “The less time-sensitive print environment allows the editors the opportunity to publish material outside the site’s day-to-day remit.

“That the team love print was evident from the first edition of the magazine. From the soft-finish print effect of the front cover to the gatefolds and seven inch vinyl record insert, this was a special piece of print designed for the music obsessive,” he notes.

It’s a welcome antidote to the sound-bite style reporting and news that dominates the digital stream, and offers brands the chance to tell a longer, more complex story with deeper engagement. Consumers still love to read, that much seems clear, and print is the perfect medium on which to do so. We are pretty excited to see what’s next for 2015.